Former state Sen. Darren Bailey conceded to U.S. Rep. Mike Bost in a competitive Republican primary in southern Illinois, according to Bailey’s campaign.
The Associated Press had not called the race by late Tuesday. With 90-percent of the vote counted, Bost had a slim lead 51 to 49 percent.
It is Bost’s second intraparty challenge in seeking his sixth term in Congress. Bailey, the unsuccessful 2022 GOP nominee for governor, was hoping to unseat the 63-year-old incumbent.
Bailey, 57, has maintained that Bost is not conservative enough. Illinois’ 12th Congressional District, redrawn after the 2020 Census, now includes a large chunk of southeastern Illinois that gave Donald Trump more than 70% of the vote in both 2016 and 2020. Bailey’s hopes to win the endorsement in this race from the former president were dashed when Trump, the presumptive 2024 presidential nominee, gave his backing to Bost. Bost thanked Trump during a speech to supporters late Tuesday and emphasized the need for finding common ground.
“If we stay united as a party, we can truly advance the agenda,” he said.
The issues are clear in the race: Rebuffing any regulation on the possession of guns, reducing inflation, opposing abortion, and sealing the U.S. southern border, a particular problem for Illinois, which has received roughly 36,000 migrants who have largely crossed into Texas and have been sent to Chicago.
Bailey contends Republicans in Congress should fight Democrats’ agenda on these and other issues and cooperate only when they abandon “extreme” positions. Bost opposes Democrats’ policies but calls himself a “governing conservative,” seeking compromise to get things done.
Bailey gave a brief concession speech, saying his supporters needed to keep holding elected officials accountable.
“I think we made a statement,” he said. “Hopefully the party will take notice that we’re not going to take this nonsense anymore, this sellout attitude.”
The US House District 12’s Democratic primary goes to Brian Roberts, who took 60% of the vote to secure the nomination over Preston Nelson. With 90% of votes reported, Roberts has 10,254 to Nelson’s 6,805.
